a funeral sermon for bob helms
The Gospel we just heard should be read at every funeral. This Gospel should be read, because it knows what’s at stake . “ Do you believe ?” After all, today is something of a mixed bag. Today we commend Bob to his maker, and of course it is with no little sorrow that we come to this moment. Bob was a wonderful man, father and friend who will be missed. Yet at the same time, Bob had been struggling with his health for a while now. He was completely clear that he was ready and living at the Burlington Care Center was something of a trial for him. So as we grieve, we take comfort in that fact that Bob is now granted rest. We come here today with plenty of mixed emotions, conflicting thoughts. And the truth is, this story of Lazarus knows the conflict we bring to these places; this story knows the same jumble of hope and sorrow, peace of mind and grief that we always bring with us to a funeral. In today’s Gospel we hear about Martha, in the midst of gr...